In the age of digital marketing, sometimes it’s the tradition that stands out. It can often feel like you are shouting out into the world, with very little return when it comes to digital. That’s in part due to not nailing your audience, and in part due to a lack of a proper campaign.
But direct mail advertising is a style of direct marketing, that when done well, will have people getting in their car and coming to you. The only thing that your direct mail advertising needs to have is a call to action and some information about the product in question.
Photo by Mathyas Kurmann on Unsplash
Is Direct Mail Effective?
You’d think not, but actually, direct mail is still a winner. Some research has suggested that direct mail marketing campaigns have a higher ROI than some digital campaigns.
But why does it see so much success?
When you see something online, it can get lost pretty quick in the infinity scrolling. You are shown hundreds of advertisements, hundreds of links and a lot of noise. It can be hard to remember where you saw a particular advertisement. In other words, it is very easy to get lost in the mire.
But when a person holds something in their hands, it finds a different place in their consciousness. Holding something, reading it, and putting it to the side for later use, can make it more memorable than an online advertisement can be.
Interactive
You can make your direct mail campaign interactive. Add coupons and direction on the card, and people will need to keep it and bring it with them. The promotional offer is enough to entice most people to action, but offering something more for bringing the actual card or flyer is even smarter.
Creative
You have a lot of room to be creative with your direct mail advertising campaigns. You can have a biodegradable flyer that is filled with seeds. Or an origami shape of a frog printed on one side. You can engage with your customer on so many new levels it is really exciting.
Less Noise
This one is pretty interesting. Although you might feel like you get ‘loads’ of flyers, do you really? In comparison to 30 minutes on Instagram or Facebook, you get more advertisements delivered that way to you.
The noise to get noticed is much less, and you know that you are delivered directly into the home of your intended target market.
You will need to still do the basics of any marketing campaign, and understand your audience, run some testing on your proposed marketing materials so that you only put money where it matters.
And finally, you have to include a call to action. The whole reason your direct mail is heading out in the world should be for a purpose. Your CTA on your promotional material can also push people towards your online store, and your social media, so that people can be engaged with you in a number of ways.